Macklin's Feelings

Love this book that Macklin brought home from school last week. 

His drawings and statements are so precious. 

 

January Happenings

What have the Brandts been up to this month? 

Sledding behind Costco - Baxter is not the best sledding partner! 

Justin took Macklin up for a full afternoon of skiing last week! He did awesome! They went all the way to the top of Beaver Creek. Then they completed two loops on the Drink of Water lift and skied all the way down. Macklin did a great job and Justin survived on a snowboard sticking close by (we wondered how the snowboard/ski combo would be). I think there will be more "Man Time on the Mountain" for these two. 

I finally grew something! I am really great at killing plants (hence the barely growing bamboo plant on the right). But the Paper Whites from Grandma were awesome! Since this picture, they have bloomed and look beautiful! 

Macklin loves his play time! He would choose to play with toys each day unless I peeled him out of the house to go do things! 

Yummy brownies and ice cream thanks to my sweet friend Emily! 

Picnics outside! We have had a few sunny and 45+ degree days! It feels like spring time! 

We have also been prepping for baby 3. We were given a white crib from a friend to fit our new decor. The crib, along with our dresser (still pending a finish), is making our room feel more like a dorm room. So we still have some work to do. Might try to move the dress into the closet. Then onto the wall decor and accents. We also changed out the fan for a standard ceiling mount light, which does open the room up quite nicely. It's a work in progress. 

Happy Birthday, Alana!

We had a great date night out last weekend celebrating our dear friend Alana and her 30th birthday! 

Carden Weekend

It was another great weekend with the Carden girls. M and E enjoyed their time in our home and Daniel had fun arsenal of play lined up. 

Painting & Building Models  

Pretend Indoor Campout 

Root Beer Floats

Macklin's Writing

Macklin's letters, numbers and pictures are improving each week. It is so fun to watch him learn so much in just two day of preschool a week! He is also excited to practice what he is learning at home! 

Mommy Bible Study

I quietly took this picture at our women's bible study last week. I just looked around and noticed how awesome all of these women around me were. Each of them is caring for their little babies, while studying the Word of God and connecting with each other. We are missing one mom who is currently adopting her second child and will bring that newborn to the group soon! I will have another in April. And there are six more downstairs (at the time of this pic) with two babysitters. Sometimes mommy-hood is crazy...oh wait, it always is. But these are the moments that I love to reflect on as we pursue intentionality through that craziness. God calls us to be in community with Him and with each other. I can't imagine life without those two elements. It has been necessary for me in my mommy life. 

Special thank you to these women who encourage me to be a better mom daily. 

Macklin Skiing 2014

Macklin did a great job on his first day back on the slopes. He remembered most of his talents from last season and even made Justin run down a run twice because he wanted to go (and Justin didn't bring his gear). We just hope that we can get him on the mountain this year between basketball and a prego momma. 

Like Mommy, Like Daughter

After taking Macy to the mountain to ski at age 2, I couldn't help be remember a few pictures that are in my parents memory books. I asked my mom to look for them and this is what we found! So fun! 

 

 

Wee Basketball 2014

His team name...the Ninja Turtles! Amazing what you get when kids pick the team name. Macklin clearly loves it! 

Post Christmas at the House

The tree is down, the pine needles are gone, the sparkles have been wiped up....and the gifts have all found a new home! It felt so good to get settled back in after all of our travels. The toy room is back to a manageable level, the legos are stashed in the large ottoman, the doll house has a nook. Life is feeling back to normal again. 

The pillows are on the beds and looking precious as can be! 

Pillows from http://www.sarahandabraham.com. 

Our VitaMix is getting used daily. Green smoothies and broccoli and cheddar soup pictured below! 

Christmas cookies are getting gobbled up! 

Macy's First 2 Days of Skiing

We took Macy to the mountain! And she rocked it! Way better balance than Macklin had at that age (sorry Mack) and didn't need nearly the bribing!

We had a mommy-daughter date last week and headed back to the slopes! She did even better as she started to figure out her skis a bit more and wanted to do the long magic carpet run! Go Macy! 

Video that includes both days:

Welcoming in 2015!

Happy 2015!!!! We celebrated by bowling with Mimi and Papa and Uncle John's family. It was Macy's first time bowling and she loved it! Macklin was interested through one game and then found the arcade. It was a great 8pm New Years Celebration! 

Who stole a bowling ball? 

Macy's First Bowl

Teaching Mimi and Papa the Art of Selfies 

Macy wants to be in every picture! 

Macy finds fun glasses and the 80's music videos! 

Cousin Love 

Party Time!